Full extent of Worcester Warriors’ debts revealed
Worcester Warriors debt has been revealed as totalling more than £30m in a report released by the club’s administrators.
A “statement of proposals” sent to the Premiership side’s creditors by Begbies Traynor also disclosed that former owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham claim to be owed more than £2m by the club’s companies.
In the latest report, Begbies Traynor confirm the club owe the Government £16.1m in loans from the Covid Sports Survival plan, and still owe £2.1m in unpaid taxes to HMRC.
Ticket holders, suppliers, businesses and banks connected to the club are also owed more than £5.8m, while WRFC Players Ltd owed £6.8m prior to being wound up.
The administrators have also confirmed that even if the entirety of Worcester’s remaining assets were sold, the prospective funds raised would not be enough to pay off the existing debts.
The report said that money owed to the HMRC is “highly likely” to be repaid, while the debt owed to the Government would be taken on by a future buyer.
The Begbies report reveals the preferred bidder for Worcester, a consortium fronted by ex-Warriors chief executive Jim O’Toole, has already invested more than £1m, including paying off a £634,000 loan taken out by Goldring and Whittingham on land at Sixways.
The document says the consortium submitted a “significantly higher” bid for the club than their rivals and paid a £500,000 deposit to be able to negotiate exclusively until the end of November.
